Property investment board game apparatus

ABSTRACT

Property investment game comprising a track having a series of marked spaces identifying different classes of property and preferably grouped together in different categories, the marked spaces constituting a continuous path along which a first marker can move in accordance with indications of dice, and a price chart in a continuous circuit on a common board with the track, having a series of marked spaces along which one or more second markers can move in accordance with indications of the dice, the price chart spaces indicating different prices lying numerically in order. The second marker or markers are movable numerically upwards and downwards along the price chart spaces to establish rising and falling prices in accordance with market conditions which are determined at the commencement of the game and which are adjusted continually as the game progresses in accordance with indications of the dice and/or actions of players of the game.

United States Patent 1191 Brande Oct. 16, 1973 [54] PROPERTY INVESTMENT BOARD GAME 1,340,942 9/1963 France 273/ 134 B APPARATUS 915,550 1/1963 Great Britain 273/134 AC [76] Inventor: Basil Braude, Pretoria St., Primary Examiner V ggfiii Johannesburg South AttorneyS. Delvalle Goldsmith et al.

[22] FIled: Mar. 22, 1972 ABSTRACT [21] Appl' 236845 Property investment game comprising a track having a series of marked spaces identifying different classes of [30] Foreign Application Priority Data property and preferably grouped together in different Mar. 26, 1971 South Africa 71 eategeties, the marked Spaces constituting eehtihuous path along which a first marker can move in ac- [52] 273/134 AF, 273/134 AD 273/135 C cordance with indications of dice, and a price chart in 51 Int. Cl. A63f 3/00 a continuous eireuit 011 a eemmen beard with the 58 Field of Search 273/134, 135 track, having a Series of marked spaces along which one or more second markers can move in accordance 5 References Cited with indications of the dice, the price chart spaces in- UNITED STATES PATENTS dicating different prices lying numerically in order.

The second marker or markers are movable numerii g i 34 3%? cally upwards and downwards along the price chart 269l528 10/1954 i i 273N334 C spaces to establish rising and falling prices in accor- 2794642 6/1957 273/134 c dance with market conditions which are determined at 2:976:044 3/1961 Corpening 273/134 AD the commencement of the game and Whieh are 3,198,521 8/1965 Kramer etal. 273/134c justed continually as the g progresses in accor- 3,222,070 12/1965 Derrington et a] 273/135 C X dance with indications of the dice and/or actions of FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Players the game' 916,655 8/1946 France 273/134 i'til'ims, 2 Drawing Figures 2 2 4 3a .5 -i 4 1 1 1 1 11 1 1 1 1\1121\\11\1 11 VX1 41 WWWN 1 1 M N N 0 GOVERNMENT 7 o 25 1 Z 5 4 5 6 7 -8 BOND 11010115 COAL COPPER uAMoNbs PuNNuM c0113 01L MANGANESE/1011111151110 PRICE ;'a 91 z 22 U 27 aRiCT10N 9 E I FURNH RE NE 1 BANKS as? 7b i T 26 MARKET QRREUIM N 11101111111111; moi BUILDINQ PLEDGE 2 -7 511 A 25 BEAR 11 E ACCOUNT c coNPuIENs T rwo INSURANCE l 4 i 241 RA11Y MARKH |Z R PLEDCL 36 momma COMM ACCOUNT L 25 PRICE 3,2 91 10 29 32 91 100 290 520910 1001 29111 A c mp9s DWIDENDS 1 2.5 5 10 2o 40 eme Z SB 68 12 21 19 18 17 16 15 14 1 29 2 APPLIANCES TOBAECO STORES SUTDRiNKS PHARMS, LIQUOR HOTELS FOOD, PROPERTY PLEDGE \7 c o N s /u M E /R ACCOUNT C. o 0 D s 2 ]11l I1|1|511Il/1 I4 1 /l\l1|4211|1/1 11l1 1111 4 5e 2a 5 a Fatented Oct. 16, 1973 3,765,682

2 Shasta-Shem 2 5m cammm SHARE CERTIFICATE GOVERNMEN T EOE! P 1000 1000 CERTIFICATE FIRST NHTlONQL SEARS ROEBUCK 6 PA 1 Z 6 M00 BANKS 9 STORIES 20 CUR/{HIT \NQOME GOVERN/VEN CURRENT B D GOVfRN/ /ENT PRIQE BOND 0 PRICE 4000R9. Z7 J00 HQHQM emu MOVE LONG- HHND 0F rYm/QKEf ACT/0N CHRD FED u 970 u P R m0v GLHmou/Z 5HHR5 up 4,

SPQQES 2, Poslrlo/vs PROPERTY INVESTMENT BOARD GAME APPARATUS This invention relates to games and more particularly to property investment games.

According to the invention, game apparatus includes a track having a series of marked spaces constituting a continuous path along which a first marker can move in accordance with indications of indicator means, such as one or more dice, each track space identifying a class of property; and a price chart having a series of marked spaces along which at least one second marker can move in accordance with indications of indicator means, the price chart spaces indicating different prices lying numerially in order.

The second marker may be moved numerically upwards and downwards along the price chart spaces to establish rising and falling proces in accordance with market conditions which are predetermined at the commencement of the game and which are adjusted continually as the game progresses.

The track and the price chart may be provided on the same or on different boards. Preferably the price chart is in the form of a continuous circuit on the same board as the track.

According to another aspect of the invention a method of palying a property investment game includes the steps of manipulating number indicator means; moving a first marker along a property identifying track a number of steps indicated by the indicator means; moving at least one second marker along a price indicating chart a number of steps dependent on the number indicated by the indicator means in a price rising or falling direction depending on prevailing market conditions; conducting a transaction in a class of property at a price indicated on the price chart by the second marker; repeating the procedure; and continually adjusting the prevailing market conditions as the game progresses.

The market conditions may be adjusted continually in accordance with indications of the indicator means and/or actions of players taking part in the game.

The different classes of property identified by the track spaces may be grouped together in different categories.

The track spaces of different categories may be distinctively marked.

At least one track space in each category may be selected for Glamour Stock rating and may be distinctively marked.

Where the different classes of property are grouped into different categories a second marker may be provided for each category, the different second markers being distinctive in appearance.

Thus according to the method of playing the game, a second marker for each of a plurality of different categories of property may be moved along the price indicating chart a number of steps dependent on the number indicated by the indicator means and on the track space on which the first marker lands; and a transaction may be conducted in any class of property at a price indicated on the price chart by the second marker for the category to which the class of property belongs.

The track spaces may identify any required property, such as real estate, but preferably the chart spaces identify classes of shares to provide a stock exchange investment game.

Thus, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the track spaces identify different sections of the stock exchange, such as coal shares, diamond shares, gold shares, banking shares or the like. Each track space may also identify a plurality of companies in the particular section and the different sections may be grouped together in different categories, such as Mining, General, Consumer Goods and Durables.

At the commencement of the game, the first marker may be placed on a predetermined track space and may be moved either clockwise or anti-clock-wise, but preferably clockwise in conventional manner, by a number of spaces indicated by the first indication given by the indicator means. Assume that the first marker lands on a track space identifying Gold shares in the Mining category say. Gold shares or the shares of any other company in the same category may then be bought and/or sold at their prevailing market price as indicated on the price chart by the second marker belonging to the category in question, as will be explained in greater detail below. Shares from other categories may also be bought and/or sold but at their prevailing market price as indicated on the price chart by the second marker belonging to the relevant category.

At the commencement of the game, the second markers may all be placed on a predetermined price chart space and may then be moved either numerically upwards or downwards by a number of spaces dependent on the number indicated by the first indication of the indicator means (i.e. dependent on the number of spaces through which the first marker moves with the first indication). Whether the second markers move upwards or downwards on the price chart depends on the prevailing market conditions.

The prevailing market conditions and the adjustment thereof as the game progresses, may be determined in any suitable manner. A preferred arrangement for a stock exchange game will be described in detail below.

The prices indicated by adjacent price chart spaces may differ by any required amount. The price difference between adjacent pairs of price chart spaces may or may not be the same throughout. Preferably the prices increase in one direction in steps such that each successive price is a fixed percentage of the immediately preceding price. Thus, for example, each successive price may be 2 percent higher than the immediately preceding price. It will be appreciated that the prices decrease in the opposite direction.

By providing prices which differ by such a fixed percentage, the game may be adapted for buying or selling of property to be effected with the payment of a commission, brokerage or the like which equals the fixed percentage. For example, assume that the prices rise in steps of two per cent from $100, say, to give successive prices of $100, $102, $104, etc., in successive price chart spaces. If a second marker lands on the $102 space, the property in question may be bought or sold at a commission, brokerage or the like of 2percent. Thus, the net selling price would be as indicated automatically by the next lower price space and the net purchasing price would be $104 as indicated automatically by the next higher price space.

The apparatus may include any suitable indicator means, preferably a pair of dice.

Furthermore, the apparatus may include a first marker and at least one second marker adapted for use as described above, each marker being distinctive in appearance. Such a first marker may hereinafter be referred to as aproperty marker .or as a share marker. Such a second marker may hereinafter be referred to as a price marker.

In a sophisticated version of the game, in which the classes of property are grouped in different categories, a second (price) marker may be provided for each category.

The apparatus may also include at least one property certificate for each of a plurality of specific properties in each class of property.

Thus for a stock exchange investment game, there may be a plurality of different companies in each stock exchange section. For example, there may be a section for coal shares and this section may be represented by a plurality of specific coal mining companies.

The apparatus may also include a market condition regulator.

In a preferred embodiment where a pair of dice is used as indicator means, the market condition regulator may comprise a clock face numbered from 2 to 12 and provided with at least one rotary indicator hand. At the start of the game, the prevailing market conditions may be predetermined by setting the clock hand between any two adjacent numbers on the clock face. Each time or at certain special times when a throw of the dice indicates a number above the clock hand position, the latter is moved one number lower on the clock face to increase the odds for a number above the clock hand position to be indicated with the next throw of the dice. At the same time, a second marker may be moved upwards on the price chart by cn spaces to provide an increased market price, where n the number indicated by the first throw of the dice and c is any predetermined integer selected for a rising market. (In an alternate variation the second marker may be moved downwards on the price chart by xn spaces to provide a decreased market price where x is any predetermined integer selected for a declining market).

Each time or at certain special times when a throw of the dice indicates a number below the clock hand position, the latter is moved one number higher on the clock face to increase the odds for a number below the clock hand position to be indicated with the next throw of the dice. At the same time the second marker may be moved downwards on the price chart by xn spaces to provide a decreased markt price, where 11 again equals the number indicated by the throw of the dice and x is the predetermined integer selected for a declining market. (In the alternate variation the second marker may be moved upwards by on spaces to provide an increased market price).

Integers c and x may be different to provide for different price changes in rising and in declining markets for the same number indicated by a throw of the dice. On the other hand may equal x to provide the same change in rising and in declining markets for the same number indicated by a throw of the dice. In a preferred embodiment of a stock exchange investment game, c l in a rising market (i.e. a bull market) and x 2 for certain values of n in a falling market (i.e. a bear market). (In the alternate variation 0 2 in a rising market and x 1 in a falling market).

It will be appreciated that if the numbers indicated by successive throws of the dice change from a value higher than that indicated by the clock hand to a lower value, or vice versa, the market trend is adjusted or reversed automatically by the throw of the dice.

However, where a market is sustained by the numbers indicated by successive throws of the dice remaining to one side of the clock hand, a correction to halt .or reverse the trend may be effected when the trend has been sustained a predetermined maximum extent.

Thus, in a preferred embodiment of a stock exchange game, a trend may only be reinforced for a predetermined maximum number of throws of the dice (i.e. movements of the markers), say a cycle of four throws, whereafter the clock hand is returned to the position it occupied at the start of such predetermined number of throws. For this purpose, the market condition indicator may include a long hand to indicate changing market conditions as described above and also a short hand to indicate the position from which a market trend commences.

Instead of using a market condition indicator comprising a clock face and at least one hand, any other suitable means may be used. For example, one or more dice may be used for this purpose using a numerical notation requiring the throwing of odd and/or even and/or double numbers etc., to end a bull or bear sequence. Alternatively, dice bearing bull and bear notations in different proportions may be used. As yet another alternative, a pack of cards carrying different proportions of bulls and bears may be used.

The apparatus may include currency of different denominations. The currency may comrpise bank notes, chips or the like.

Tokens, discs or the like may be provided for indicating market trends and/or conditions. Thus for a stock exchange investment game, at least one animal figure of a bull and at least one animal figure of a bear may be provided.

Numerous variations on the basic principle of the game are possible without departing from the spirit of the game. For example, provision may be made for the payment of dividends, taxes, levies, directors fees, interest, salaries and the like. Also, provision may be made for a plurality of stock exchanges in different countries, each of the various stock exchanges operating under its own market conditions. Furthermore, provision may be made for devaluatiomtake-over bids, new issues, bankruptcy and the like. Also provision may be made for individual players to influence the progress of the game by means of the use of special cards, for example.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a board according to the invention for a stock exchange investment game.

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic representation of certain aids which may be used with the board of figure l.

The game may be played by two or more persons with one or more boards, each of which is indicative of market conditions for its own stock exchange area. Thus a plurality of stock exchanges in different parts of the world may be represented by the same number of boards which may be substantially similar to the board illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings but differing only in detail to reflect the names of local industries and other local conditions.

The board illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings comprises:

a. an inner track 1 comprising a series of 28 numbered spaces 2 which are named to indicate different types of shares, such as coal shares (space No.1), copper shares (space No.2), etc. Each space 2 represents say 6 different companies (not individually represented on drawings) in respect of which share dealings may be conducted.

Spaces 2 are grouped in four differently coloured categories 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d designated as Mining, General, Consumer Goods and Durable, each category comprising a sequence of seven spaces 2 with the middle space 2a in each category singled out for Glamour Stock rating. Categories 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d are distinctively coloured.

b. an outer circuit 4 comprising a series of 120 spaces 5, every fifth space numbered to 91, successive spaces 5 bearing price markings (not shown) which increase regularly in approximate 2 percent steps from 10(100) to 91(910) units of price, such as cents, pence, dollars, pounds or the like. Outer circuit 4 constitutes a price chart.

c. a diagrammatic rerpesentation 6 of bull and bear market cycles.

d. spaces 7 for the location of cards relating to:

i. government bond prices ii. income tax, and

iii. pledge accounts e. a market condition regulator 10 in the form of a clock with a rotary long hand 9, a rotary short hand 8 and a clock face 11 marked from 2 to 12.

f. a table 12 relating dividends to share prices.

One or more of the following aids (certain of which are illustrated in FIG. 2) may be provided:

a. a set of two six-sided dice of conventional design bearing numbers from 1 to 6 (not shown) b. a large sized property marker 13 (which will hereinafter be referred to as a share marker) which is adapted to be moved clock-wise along the inner track 1 in accordance with numbers indicated by throws of the dice.

0. five smaller sized price markers 14 in five different colours which are adapted to move backwards and forwards along the outer circuit 4, the colours of four of the price markers corresponding respectively to the colours of the four categories 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d of inner track 1. The remaining price marker is of a fifth colour and corresponds to the Glamour Stocks of the four spaces 2a of track 1, one space 2a belonging to each of the four categories 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d.

d. differently sized tokens, 3 Bull and 3 Bear, for location at different stages of the Bull and Bear Market cycle 6. These tokens (not shown) may comprise animal figures of bulls and bears.

e. 168 Share Certificates, such as 15, one for each of the 6 individual companies represented by each of the 28 spaces 2 of inner track 1.

f. 40 Government Bond Certificates, such as 16, in denominations of $1,000, $2,000, $3,000 and $4,000 par value each,.

g. nine Income Tax Cards such as 17, for display on Income Tax space 7b h. 2l Government Bond Price Cards, such as 18, for

display on appropriate space 7a i. Currency chips (not shown) in various denominations totalling $240,000.

j. 20 Action Cards, such as 19, which may be used to influence the course of the game.

k. a numerical table showing the value of different quantities of shares at various market prices. This may be provided to facilitate the playing of the game and avoid continual calculation.

The object of the game is to invest as skillfully as possible, the winner being the player at the end of the game with the greatest net asset value in cash, bonds and shares.

To facilitate the complex changes inherent in the game, various special roles and functions may be allocated to the players, such as:

1. Minister of Economic Affairs:

a. Control of the Market Regulator 10 and the Bull and Bear Tokens. b. Movement of the share marker 13 on inner track 1. 2. Minister of Finance:

a. Income Tax regulation and collection. b. Movement of the five price markers 14 on outer circuit 4. 3. Governor of the Reserve Bank:

a. Marking of the Government Bond Price. b. Issuing and encashment of Goverment Bonds c. Goverment Bond interest payments. 4. Company Secretary:

Issuing of Shares 5. Stock Broker:

a. Repurchase of Shares b. Covering of Short Sales 6. Bank Manager:

a. Issuing of loans and collection of interest on pledge accounts.

b. Attention to dividend payments and collections,

fees and salaries.

INITIAL PROCEDURE 1. Draw for seats. I-Iighest throw of the dice occupies seat number 1 with lower numbers occupying the seats adjacent in clockwise rotation. 2. Allocation of Special Roles to players in rotation from seat number 1 for the Minister of Economic Affairs to seat number 6 for the Bank Manager. With less than six players, some players will assume two roles. 3. a. Distribution of $20,000 worth of currency chips to each player in the following proportions:

4 X $3,000 6 X $1,000 4 x $300 6 X 5 X $30 5 X $10 b. Allocation of the remaining chips to the Treasury. 4. Distribution of $50,000 worth of Government Bond Certificates 16 in equal proportions amongst the players. 5. Distribution face downwards of an equal number of Action Cards 19 to each player until an indivisible number of cards remain.

6. The Minister of Economic Affairs will place the share marker 13 on the 28th space 2 of inner track 1.

7. The Minister of Finance will place each of the five price markers 14 on the first space of the outer circuit 4.

8. The Governor of the Reserve Bank will place a card 18 marked 100 percent in the Government Bond price space 7a.

9. The Minister of Economic Affairs and thereafter each player in rotation will exercise any or all of the privileges of their Action Cards, simultaneously handing in the relevant cards to the Treasury. On passing the 28th inner circuit space 2, both the used and the unused Action Cards 19 are collected and redistrbuted. Action Cards 19 bear different instructions applying for example to the position of the Market Regulator and the various price markers so as to enable players to influence the market as well as to participate in its vagaries.

I0. The Minister of Economic Affairs will throw the two dice.

l l. The Minister of Economic Affairs will now attend to two functions a. He will move the share marker 13 clock-wise along the inner track I by a number of spaces 2 equal to the value of the throw so that it rests on a section representing six companies A,B,C,D,E, and F. In each instance a specific company is selected for a bonus dividend by the value of the throw, i.e. company A for throw 7, company B for throws 2 or 8, and so on (see also paragraph 14 below and paragraph of Continuation Procedure").

b. i. If the dice throw is between 7 and 12 he will place the short hand 8 and the long hand 9 of the market regulator 10 between numbers 7 and 6 and place a large Bull token on the appropriate section '6 of the board. A major Bull (or upward) market is now in operation, and the odds are in favour of its continuation.

ii. If the dice throw is between 6 and 2, he will place the short hand 8 and the long hand 9 of the market regulator 10 between numbers 7 and 8, and place the large Bear token on the appropriate section of the board. A major Bear (or downward) market is now in operation, and the odds are in favour of its continuation.

12. The Minister of Finance will:

a. Place an Income Tax Card 17 marked $4,000 in the Income Tax space 7b and collect $4,000 from each player for the Treasury.

b. Move each of the five price markers 14 from the first space 5 along outer circuit 4, either:

i. in a clock-wise or forward direction in a Bull market, or

ii. in an anti-clock-wise or backward direction in a Bear market, by

A. a number of spaces 5 equal to the value of the dice throw, or

B. a number of spaces 5 equal to twice the value of the dice throw for numbers 2 to 6 in a Bear market, and in the caee of the price marker corresponding in colour to the category 3 now accommodating the share marker by C. a further number of spaces 5 equal to the above movements, and in the case of the Glamour Stock price marker, by

D. a further six spaces 5.

13. The Governor of the Reserve Bank will a. offer Government Bond Certificates 16 to any of the players, in clock-wise rotation starting from the player who is next to throw the dice, one Certificate at a time, at the current market price.

b. offer short sales in Bonds equal to the one Government Bond Certificate 16 to each of the players in rotation. Should a player invest in a short sale (i.e. he prefers to invest in cash and pay for this in the currency of Bonds), he will place as security for the transaction, cash equal in value to the short sale on the Bond Certificate 16 and the Governor will similarly collect from the Treasury an equal amount and place this on the Certificate 16.

14. The Company Secretary will now offer to each of the players, in the same order, either:

a. one Share Certificate 15 in any one of the spaces 2 of inner track 1, at the current market price. Market price for any share will be the price indicated by the coloured price marker 14 corresponding to the category of the company. Where the price marker 14 rests on a blank space, the next highest number will be the purchase price. Conversely in the case of a sale, the next lower number will be the price, or

b. Short sales in shares corresponding to one Share Certificate 15 using a similar procedure to that outlined in INITIAL PROCEDURE paragraph 13(b) above, but substituting shares for bonds.

Before every throw of the dice each player may open only one transaction at a time dealing in either bonds or the shares of one company, but he may at any time close any or all open transactions, i.e. he may at any time sell shares owned or cover a short sale. To simplify issuing procedure only one Share Certificate is available for each company, but in order to allow players to choose varying quantities, the Certificates are issued in the following denominations:

COMPANY A(selected by dice throw 7) 1,000 shares COMPANY B (selected by dice throws 2 or 8) 2,000 shares COMPANY C (selected by dice throws 3 or 9 4,000 shares COMPANY D (selected by dice throws 4 or 10 8,000 shares COMPANY E selected by dice throws 5 or ll 16,000 shares COMPANY F selected by dice throws 6 or 12 32,000 shares 15. The Bank Manager may at any time open Pledge Accounts for an initial fee of 12 percent and collect interest of 12 percent on such accounts each time the share marker 13 passes the 28th space 2 on inner track 1. The amount advanced on such accounts will be equal to half the current price of shares pledged, the loan being rounded off to the nearest thousand dollars. Shares with a total value of less than $1,000 will not be acceptable as security. The Bank Manager will record the loan by placing the Share Certificate/s 15 on any of the 4 Pledge Account spaces 7c and by covering the Share Certificate/s with an amount equal to the advance. Should all 4 Pledge Account spaces be in use, no further loans will be available for the time being. Players may redeem their loans whenever an interest payment is made.

CONTINUATION PROCEDURE 1. Player number 2 initiates the use of Action Cards 19 and thereafter throws dice for the initial procedure to be repeated with the following additions and exceptions.

2. In a Bull market with a throw:

a. corresponding to numbers on the high (clockwise) side of the long hand 9, the latter is moved one position anti-clock-wise to between 6 and 5.

b. corresponding to numbers on the low (anti-clockwise) side, the long hand 9 is moved one position clock-wise to between 7 and 8.

This signals a technical correction in a Bull market and the small Bear token is placed on the COR- RECTION ONE space in the Bull and Bear cycle representation 6.

3. In a Bear market with a throw:

a. corresponding to numbers on the low side of the long hand 9 the latter is moved one position clockwise to between 8 and 9.

b. corresponding to numbers on the high side, the long hand 9 is moved one position anti-clock-wise to between 7 and 6. This signals a Rally in a Bear market and the small Bull token is placed on the RALLY ONE space in the Bull and Bear cycle representation 6.

4. The Market regulator 10 continues to bealtered in this manner until there is a deviation of three spaces of the long hand 9 from the short hand 8 or a change of market direction occurs, in which case the long hand 9 is moved back in one sweep to the position of the short hand8 and the long hand deviation sequence repeats itself. Each movement of the long hand (corresponding to a throw of the dice) is representative of 3 months in time. Note that a CORRECTION ONE may revert to a Bull market or proceed to a CORRECTION TWO represented by an intermediate sized Bear token. This in turn may also revert to a Bull market or mature into a new major Bear market in which case the down movements on the outer circuit 4 for throws between 2 and 6 will be for an additional distance. Similarly, a Bear market may be interrupted by minor or major Rallies (i.e. Rally One or Rally Two represented respectively by small or intermediate size Bull tokens, or a major Rally may mature into a new Bull market. Each phase of a Correction or Rally is representative of three months and therefore a new major market can not be declared until a nine month period has elapsed. At such a point, the short hand 8 of the market regulator 10 is moved one position clockwise or anti-clock-wise for a new Bear or Bull market respectively. The odds now, by virtue of the position of the small hand 8 of the Market regulator 10, favour a continuation of the new market until the cycle is broken. Should a change of direction occur when the hands 8, 9 are in apposition, the cycles of sub-cycle tend towards 12 months, whereas at other junctures the lengths incline towards fifteen months. At the end of approximately one year, corresponding to a completed circuit of inner track 1, the Minister of Economic Affairs will decide on whether he prefers market conditions to remain the same or whether they should be more Bullish or Bearish, in which event he will adjust the Market regulator 10 by shifting the short hand 8 by a maximum of one position clock-wise or anit-clock-wise. At no time, however, may the short hand go below 5 or above 9.

5. At the beginning of each circuit the Minister of Finance will decide on his Fiscal Policy for the year and alter, if he wishes, the income tax rate for the year by $500 from that for the previous year, down to a minimum of $2,000 and up to a maximum of $6,000, by placing the appropriate Income Tax Card 17 in the Income Tax space 7b.

6. The five price markers 14 are moved as before, i.e. forward for up movements and backward for down movements, except that in a down swing in a Bear Market they are moved double the distance for numbers 2 to 6.

7. The Governor of the Reserve Bank will increase (or diminish) the Bond price by multiples of 10 percent as determined by the number of Bonds in circulation. For every additional completed 10,000 the Bond price will rise by 10 percent and the corresponding price will be displayed on the board. Players in rotation may again purchase or sell or take short positions in Bonds, or cover (close) any previous short position, i.e. buy in at the current price, any short sale previously negotiated. The Bond Certificate 16 is thereupon returned to the Governor and the player collects all the cash previously placed on the Certificate 16, i.e. his security and the proceeds of the original short sale. When the share marker 13 passes the 28th space 2 on inner track 1, the Governor will pay interest of $60 per 1,000 to all holders of Government Bonds and collect equivalent amounts from the holders of short positions in bonds. 8. The Company Secretary will repeat his role in the same manner as before.

9. The stock Broker will also repeat his role, but in addition will be responsible for supervising any short sale covering which is performed in a manner similar to the covering of short sales in bonds. When a covering transaction has been completed, the Stock Broker will return the Share Certificate 15 to the Company Secretary.

10. The Bank Managers role will remain the same, but in addition, he will a. pay out dividends to all shareholders and collect dividends from all holders of short positions each time the share marker 13 passes the 28th space 2. Bonus dividends at the same rate as ordinary dividends are also payable to shareholders of a specific company when the share marker 13 and a throw of the dice make such a selection (see paragraph 1 l of INITIAL PROCEDURE above). Dividends will vary with the rise and fall of share prices. The rate will be 5 cents for shares between 32 and 91; and 10 cents between and 290. Any further trebling of share prices will again double the dividend. Correspondingly, when prices fall to between 29 and 10 cents, dividends will have to 2% cents and finally decrease to 1 cent for share prices between 9.1 and 3.2 cents. No dividends are payable at lower prices. Note that because of smaller fluctuations in dividends than share prices, dividend yields on a percentage basis will be lower in Bull than Bear markets.

b. pay out Directors fees and Chairmans salaries when the share marker 13 passes the 28th space 2. Should any player hold 16,000 shares in a com pany, he becomes appointed to the Board and receives Directors fees equal to 10 percent of the current market price of shares held in this company. Should he hold 32,000 shares in a company he becomes Chairman of the company and collects a salary equal to 25 percent of the value of his shares.

1 1. After each cycle of three years the player on the left of the Minister of Economic Affairs becomes Minister of Economic Affairs and all other roles also shift one position in a clock-wise direction.

INTERNATIONAL STOCK EXCHANGES TERMINATION OF THE GAME The game terminates when each solvent player has had an opportunity of being Minister of Economic Affairs. Games may be shortened by restricting each players term of office to one or two years. During the course of a game a player may go insolvent, by not being able to meet his income tax commitments. Under such circumstances, he retires from the game for competitive purposes, but may, with the permission of the other players, obtain an inheritance of $20,000 from the Treasury and reparticipate in the game.

It will be appreciated that many variations in detail are possible without departing from the scope of the appended claims. For example, in the above preferred embodiment, the various numerical values which are given may be changed to suit circumstances. Also, the special roles allocated to various players may be designated by different names. Certain of the special roles may be omitted or additional roles may be added as re-.

quired. The Market condition Regulator may comprise part of the board of FIG. 1 or may comprise a separate device located on or adjacent the board.

I claim:

1. Game apparatus comprising:

a. a track having a series of marked spaces constituting a continuous path along which a first marker is movable in steps dependent on successive indications of indicator means, each track space identifying a class of property;

b. a market condition regulator adjustable in accordance with the indications of said indicator means to establish varying market conditions; and

c. a price chart which has a series of marked spaces indicating different prices lying numerically in order and along which at least one second marker is movable in steps dependent on the successive indications of the said indicator means, the second marker being movable numerically upwards and downwards along the price chart in accordance with market conditions indicated by the market condition regulator to establish rising and falling prices.

2. Game apparatus comprising a board including:

a. a track having a series of marked spaces constituting a continuous path along which a first marker is movable in steps dependent on successive indications of indicator means, each track space identifying a class of property;

b. a market condition regulator representing the numbers 2 to 12 and having at least one indicator movable relative to the numbers in accordance with the indications of said indicator means to establish varying market conditions; and

c. a price chart which has a series of marked spaces indicating different prices lying numerically in order and along which at least one second marker is movable in steps dependent on the successive indications of the said indicator means, the second marker being movable numerically upwards and downwards along the price chart in accordance with market conditions indicated by the market condition regulator to establish rising and falling prices.

3. Game apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the prices indicated by adjacent price chart spaces differ in steps such that each successive price along the chart is a substantially fixed percentage of the immediately preceding price.

4. Game apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the market condition regulator comprises a clock face numbered 2 to 12; and at least one rotary indicator hand.

5. In game apparatus the combination of:

a. a track having a series of marked spaces constituting a continuous path, each track space identifying a class of property;

b. indicator means operative to give successive indications;

c. a property marker progressively movable along the track in steps comprising numbers of track spaces dependent on successive indications of said indicator means;

d. a market condition regulator adjustable in accordance with the indications of said indicator means to establish varying market conditions;

e. a price chart having a series of marked spaces indicating different prices lying numerically in order; and

f. at least one price marker movable along the price chart in steps comprising numbers of chart spaces dependent on successive indications of said indicator means, the movement of the price marker being upwards and downwards in accordance with market conditions indicated by the market conditions regulator to establish rising and falling prices.

6. Game apparatus comprising:

a. a track having a series of marked spaces constituting a continuous path, each track space identifying a class of property;

b. a set of dice marked to give any one of a plurality of different numerical indications when thrown;

c. a property marker progressively movable along the track in steps comprising numbers of track spaces depending on the indications given by successive throws of said dice;

d. a market condition regulator representing a series of numbers corresponding to the various numerical indications that can be given by said dice, the market condition regulator being adjustable to give indications relative to its numbers in accordance with numerical indications given by throws of said dice to establish continually varying market conditions;

e. a price chart having a series of marked spaces indicating different prices lying numerically in order; and

f. at least one price marker movable along the price chart in steps comprising numbers of chart spaces depending on the indications given by successive throws of said dice, the direction of movement of the price marker being numerically upwards and 13 downwards along the price chart depending on prevailing market conditions as indicated by the market condition regulator.

7. Game apparatus as claimed in claim 6, comprising a set of two six-sided dice each of which is marked to give numerical indications from 1 to 6; and a market condition regulator having a face numbered from 2 to 12 and an indicator movable over the numbers of the face.

8. Game apparatus comprising:

a. a track having a series of marked spaces constituting a continuous path, each track space identifying a class of property and the different classes of property being grouped together in different categories;

b. indicator means operative to give successive indications;

c. a property marker movable progressively along the track in steps dependent on successive indications of said indicator means; d. a market condition regulator adjustable in accordance with successive indications of the indicator means to establish varying market conditions;

. a price chart having a series of marked spaces indicating different prices lying numerically in order; and

. a price marker for each of the categories of proper- 9. Game apparatus, as claimed in claim 8, comprising at least one track space in each category which is seiected for special rating; and an additional price marker movable along the price chart. 

1. Game apparatus comprising: a. a track having a series of marked spaces constituting a continuous path along which a first marker is movable in steps dependent on successive indications of indicator means, each track space identifying a class of property; b. a market condition regulator adjustable in accordance with the indications of said indicator means to establish varying market conditions; and c. a price chart which has a series of marked spaces indicating different prices lying numerically in order and along which at least one second marker is movable in steps dependent on the successive indications of the said indicator means, the second marker being movable numerically upwards and downwards along the price chart in accordance with market conditions indicated by the market condition regulator to establish rising and falling prices.
 2. Game apparatus comprising a board including: a. a track having a series of marked spaces constituting a continuous path along which a first marker is movable in steps dependent on successive indications of indicator means, each track space identifying a class of property; b. a market condition regulator representing the numbers 2 to 12 and having at least one indicator movable relative to the numbers in accordance with the indications of said indicator means to establish varying market conditions; and c. a price chart which has a series of marked spaces indicating different prices lying numerically in order and along which at least one second marker is movable in steps dependent on the successive indications of the said indicator means, the second marker being movable numerically upwards and downwards along the price chart in accordance with market conditions indicated by the market condition regulator to establish rising and falling prices.
 3. Game apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the prices indicated by adjacent price chart spaces differ in steps such that each successive price along the chart is a substantially fixed percentage of the immediately preceding price.
 4. Game apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the market condition regulator comprises a clock face numbered 2 to 12; and at least one rotary indicator hand.
 5. In game apparatus the combination of: a. a track having a series of marked spaces constituting a continuous path, each track space identifying a class of property; b. indicator means operative to give successive indications; c. a property marker progressively movable along the track in steps comprising numbers of track spaces dependent on successive indications of said indicator means; d. a market condition regulator adjustable in accordance with the indications of said indicator means to establish varying market conditions; e. a price chart having a series of marked spaces indicating different prices lying numerically in order; and f. at least one price marker movable along the price chart in steps comprising numbers of chart spaces dependent on successive indications of said indicator means, the movement of the price marker being upwards and downwards in accordance with market conditions indicated by the market conditions regulator to establish rising and falling prices.
 6. Game apparatus comprising: a. a track having a series of marked spaces constituting a continuous path, each track space identifying a class of property; b. a set of dice marked to give any one of a plurality of different numerical indications when thrown; c. a property marker progressively movable along the track in steps comprising numbers of track spaces depending on the indications given by successive throws of said dice; d. a market condition regulator representing a series of numbers corresponding to the various numerical indications that can be given by said dice, the market condition regulator being adjustable to give indications relative to its numbers in accordance with numerical indications given by throws of said dice to establish continually varying market conditions; e. a price chart having a series of marked spaces indicating different prices lying numerically in order; and f. at least one price marker movable along the price chart in steps comprising numbers of chart spaces depending on the indications given by successive throws of said dice, the direction of movement of the price marker being numerically upwards and downwards along the price chart depending on prevailing market conditions as indicated by the market condition regulator.
 7. Game apparatus as claimed in claim 6, comprising a set of two six-sided dice each of which is marked to give numerical indications from 1 to 6; and a market condition regulator having a face numbered from 2 to 12 and an indicator movable over the numbers of the face.
 8. Game apparatus comprising: a. a track having a series of marked spaces constituting a continuous path, each track space identifying a class of property and the different classes of property being grouped together in different categories; b. indicator means operative to give successive indications; c. a property marker movable progressively along the track in steps dependent on successive indications of said indicator means; d. a market condition regulator adjustable in accordance with successive indications of the indicator means to establish varying market conditions; e. a price chart having a series of marked spaces indicating different prices lying numerically in order; and f. a price marker for each of the categories of properties, each price marker being movable along the price chart in steps with each successive indication of said indicator means, each step of a price marker being dependent on the indication in question of the said indicator means and the direction of each step of each price marker numerically upwardly and downwardly along the price chart being in accordance with market conditions indicated by the market condition regulator at that time.
 9. Game apparatus, as claimed in claim 8, comprising at least one track space in each category which is selected for special rating; and an additional price marker movable along the price chart. 